Humansdorp

Humansdorp

Humansdorp railway station
Humansdorp

 Humansdorp shown within Eastern Cape

Coordinates: 34°02′S 24°46′E / 34.033°S 24.767°E / -34.033; 24.767Coordinates: 34°02′S 24°46′E / 34.033°S 24.767°E / -34.033; 24.767
Country South Africa
Province Eastern Cape
District Sarah Baartman
Municipality Kouga
Established 1849
Area[1]
 • Total 34.5 km2 (13.3 sq mi)
Elevation 120 m (390 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 28,990
 • Density 840/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 38.0%
 • Coloured 54.3%
 • Indian/Asian 0.3%
 • White 6.7%
 • Other 0.6%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • Afrikaans 63.1%
 • Xhosa 31.4%
 • English 2.6%
 • Other 2.9%
Postal code (street) 6300
PO box 6300
Area code 042

Humansdorp is a small town and surrounding district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a population of around 29,000 during the census of 2011. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District. The town is the centre of the district's light industry and farming. Humansdorp was founded in 1849, and was named after Johannes Jurie Human and Matthys Gerhardus Human, who were joint founders of the Dutch Reformed Church congregation there.[2] The town's residential streets are lined with trees that were planted before the First World War by the then mayor, Ambrose Saffery.

The Apple Express passes through Humansdorp.

Notable residents

Heinrich Schörbeck (alias Hendrik Spoorbek/Skoorbek), was a seer, healer and magician who settled in the Humansdorp district around 1815. In Afrikaner folklore, he is commonly known as Hendrik Spoorbek/Skoorbek the "Towenaar" (Magician/Wizard).

Three-time Olympic athlete Cornelia Bürki was born in Humansdorp. She competed for Switzerland and still lives there today in the little town of Wagen. The Humansdorpers know her as Corrie de Vos.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sum of the Main Places Humansdorp and KwaNomzamo from Census 2011.
  2. ↑ "Soon to be the new home of: www.humansdorptourism.co.za". humansdorptourism.co.za.

External links

Media related to Humansdorp at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, September 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.